OBJECTIVES Odontoblasts are highly differentiated post-mitotic cells, which under pathological conditions such as carious lesions and dental injuries may degenerate and be replaced by other pulp cells. We have recently shown that this physiological event can be reproduced in an in vitro assay system, but is highly modified by the presence of unpolymerized resinous monomers. Our hypothesis was t...

In recent years, substantial progress has been made regarding the molecular etiology of human structural tooth diseases that alter dentin matrix formation. These diseases have been classified into two major groups with subtypes: dentin dysplasia (DD) types I and II and dentinogenesis imperfecta (DGI) types I-III. Genetic linkage studies have identified the critical loci for DD-II, DGI-II, and D...

Dentin is the major part of tooth and formed by odontoblasts. Under the influence of the inner enamel epithelium, odontoblasts differentiate from ectomesenchymal cells of the dental papilla and secrete pre-dentin which then undergo mineralization into dentin. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is essential for dentinogenesis; however, the precise ...

The dentin structure of non-erupted human deciduous mandibular and maxillary central and lateral incisor teeth was studied employing light and scanning electron microscopy. For light microscopy, nitric-acid-demineralized and ground sections were used. The sections were stained by hematoxylin-eosin, picrosirius and azo-carmine methods, and ground specimens were prepared using a carborundum disk ...

A variety of methacrylate-based materials has been developed with the capacity of adhering to dentin. This study investigated the effectiveness of 2-(methacryloxy)ethyl phenyl hydrogenphosphate (phenyl-P) for bonding 5% phenyl-P in methyl methacrylate (MMA) to dentinal surfaces. Polymerization of the phenyl-P/MMA monomer was initiated by partially oxidized tri-n-butyl borane catalyst (TBB). The...

dentin dysplasia is an exceptionally rare, autosomal-dominant, hereditary condition, primarily characterized by defective dentin formation affecting both the deciduous and permanent dentitions. the etiology remains imprecise to date, in spite of the numerous hypotheses put forward and the constant updates on this condition. this case report of type i dentin dysplasia exhibits radiographic fi nd...

Molecular biology is providing opportunities to develop new strategies or agents for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. The availability of large amounts of highly purified proteins produced by recombinant DNA techniques is an obvious example. Recent evidence has implicated proteins belonging to the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) subgroup of the transforming growth factor beta super...

To date, much of our understanding of dentin bonding has been based on investigations performed on sound, healthy dentin. This is not the substrate generally encountered in clinical practice, rather dentists must frequently bond to caries-affected dentin. Because of the extreme complexity and variability of the caries-affected dentin substrate, conventional characterization techniques do not pr...

BACKGROUND Collagen type I, proteoglycans (PG) and non-collagenous proteins represent important building blocks of the dentine matrix. While different PGs have been identified in dentine, changes in the distribution of these macromolecules with the progression of caries have been poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to compare the immunolocalization of three small collagen-binding PG...